Susu found it hard to accept the sudden change in Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Yu. Standing by the private room door again, she thought of the handsome men inside, but instead of finding them charming, she felt disgusted.
Just as Mrs. Huang was about to push her in, Susu couldn't bring herself to comply and broke free. "Please help me explain to Director Tian that I have an urgent family matter and need to leave," she said.
With that, she quickly exited the club. Outside, she broke into a cold sweat, understanding why Mengqi had warned her that she might not be able to handle such social events.
Susu called for a designated driver and returned to the villa around ten o'clock at night.
Tianyi should still be awake at this hour. As she changed her shoes at the entrance, she saw the light on in the study upstairs.
She tiptoed upstairs, intending to go to the bedroom to shower and change, not wanting Tianyi to see her in her current state.
As Susu cautiously approached the bedroom door, she sniffed her sleeve. Besides her own perfume, there was another scent mixed in. She just wanted to change out of these clothes quickly.
Just as she was about to push open the bedroom door, Tianyi's voice came from behind her, "Why are you only back now? What were you doing with Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Huang?"
Susu's heart sank. If Tianyi found out she had been to a place like that, it would be disastrous.
She steadied her breathing, turned to face Tianyi, and chuckled, "We met with the director of the charity fund approval department, had some dinner and drinks."
"You were drinking?" Tianyi walked towards her, his expression darkening as he asked.
Susu quickly replied, "Only a little, just two small sips at most."
Tianyi approached her, staring intently, as if trying to bore a hole through her.
Susu felt uneasy and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Tianyi grabbed a corner of her jacket collar and demanded, "Look for yourself, what is this?"
Susu wanted to see what was on her collar, but he was pulling it so hard she couldn't. "What is it? I can't see. Did I get some food grease on me..."
Before she could finish, Tianyi forcefully took off her jacket and held the collar area in front of her face, letting her see for herself.
Susu stared at the lipstick mark on the collar, a little bewildered. She thought, "Did one of those handsome men at the club wear lipstick? How effeminate."
"Perhaps when Mrs. Huang leaned in to talk to me, her lipstick got on my clothes."
Tianyi said with disgust, "And the perfume you're wearing smells strange, really unpleasant. Go take a shower right now."
"Okay." Susu seized the opportunity, feeling as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly entered the bedroom and went to the bathroom.
After showering and putting on a bathrobe, she felt a lot more relaxed, relieved that she hadn't gone into that private room again tonight.
Susu was lost in thought when she suddenly saw Tianyi, already in his pajamas, sitting against the bed. She was startled and said, "Are you done with your work? When did you come back to the bedroom?"
"Is there something wrong with me being here?" Tianyi looked at her strangely. "On the other hand, you're acting odd tonight. What are you thinking about?"
Susu still didn't dare to tell him that Mrs. Huang and the others had taken her to such a place. She sat on the edge of the bed and said worriedly, "During dinner tonight, I wasn't good at socializing and offended Director Tian. The charity fund for the orphanage might not go through."
"Is that Director Tian a man or a woman? How did you offend her over dinner?" Tianyi asked.
Susu replied, "She's a woman, about the same age as Mrs. Huang and them. She asked me to have a few more drinks with her, but I didn't, I only had a couple of sips. She seemed unhappy."
Tianyi pulled her onto the bed and hugged her, saying, "Why do all leaders like to drink? It seems to have nothing to do with gender. You didn't drink much, and Mrs. Huang and the others are experienced in socializing. Don't worry. The orphanage charity fund is no longer just your responsibility. It's also trending on the hot search in Lancheng. Mrs. Huang and Mrs. Yu have even more attention than you. They should also want this charity fund to be established."
Susu said "oh," finally understanding why Mrs. Huang had rushed out so anxiously and said so much to her.
It seemed that after she left, Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Huang had to clean up her mess with Director Tian. They were probably still trying their best to appease Director Tian.
She worried even more, "Did I fall out with Mrs. Huang and the others over this?"
"Don't look so glum," Tianyi hugged her tighter. He hadn't smelled much alcohol on her earlier, so he hadn't suspected anything. "You're not good at socializing anyway. Just leave this to Mrs. Huang and the others to handle. You weren't looking to profit or gain any fame from it anyway."
Since things had already happened, agonizing over it wouldn't help. She hummed in agreement and lay down, snuggling into Tianyi's embrace. Holding him tightly, she felt a little better.
...
The next morning, as soon as Susu arrived at her studio office, she immediately called Mengqi.
Mengqi was in her office at the Huangfu Group, drinking coffee. Seeing Susu's call, she already knew what it was about.
Late last night, Mrs. Huang had called her and complained at length.
Mrs. Huang had also invited Mengqi last night, but she had found an excuse not to go. She was aware of the wealthy wives' penchant for going to such clubs for entertainment.
In the past, to gather useful business information, she had accompanied those wealthy wives to such places twice. Each time, she would socialize and pretend to interact with the handsome men there to avoid seeming out of place, but she knew when to stop.
After getting married, Mengqi stopped going to such places. She never liked that kind of scene and didn't want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings with her husband.
But she hadn't expected Mrs. Huang and the others to invite Susu last night, and Susu had gone completely unaware.
In fact, Mrs. Huang didn't need to say much; Mengqi could imagine how awkward Susu must have felt to leave in such a hurry.
However, this would inevitably anger Director Tian, as Susu's behavior seemed to show contempt for Director Tian.
"Mengqi, good morning," Susu said urgently. "The orphanage charity fund is likely ruined. I offended an important person last night."
Mengqi replied, "I heard. Why didn't you tell me before you went?"
Susu said regretfully, "I thought it was just a regular dinner party, where we'd eat and drink. I didn't expect them to go to a club like that for fun."
"Your role as Mrs. Qin is truly... truly out of touch with the world," Mengqi didn't know how to describe her.
The Qin Corporation was one of the top conglomerates in Lancheng. As Mrs. Qin Tianyi, Susu was truly oblivious to the goings-on in the upper-class social circles of Lancheng, not even knowing this.
It was a well-known secret among the wives that many wealthy ladies frequented that club.
"I never intended to socialize with these wealthy wives. Before, I just went between the studio and home every day, and I didn't feel empty. Having Tianyi was enough," Susu said helplessly.